Ireland Rack up 53 Points to See Off Undisciplined Argentina.

What a weekend of rugby it was for the Northern Hemisphere sides. France dominated the All Blacks, England clinched a gripping victory over Champions South Africa by one point, Scotland saw off Japan and Ireland took down Argentina very convincingly. Amongst calls that the SH teams were tired, NH teams are peaking too early and all the usual comments, one fact prevails: some amazing rugby was played this weekend.

Ireland went into the game already with a few injuries ruling out key players; Carbery replacing Sexton, Murray replacing the in-form Gibson-Park and Bundee Aki replaced by Henshaw. Albeit, the replacements aren’t exactly lacking in talent but it’s a switch up from the consistency we saw across the first two dominant games. When the Ireland squad woke up on Sunday morning, little did they know there was even more of a shake-up to come. Conan was ruled out after he picked up a niggle on Saturday; they had hoped this would clear by Sunday morning but no such luck. This brought O’Mahony into the starting 15, pushing Doris to 8, bringing Baird onto the bench and Timoney received a 7:45am call to make the trek back down to Dublin from Belfast, as he would be needed in the warm up. Then, just when selection looked to be settled and confirmed, Iain Henderson picked up an injury in said warm up and thus Tadgh Beirne is brought off the bench into the second row and Timoney is called onto the bench just hours after an unexpected call from Farrell. So needless to say this wasn’t exactly the most settled Ireland team we could have seen. From playing Japan to playing New Zealand there was one change to the starting 15 which was to bring Henderson in. From the starting 15 against the All Blacks to the starting 15 against Argentina there were 6 changes. 5 of which, as far as I can tell, were forced through injury with the only tactical change being Baloucoune in for Andrew Conway who kindly slotted in as water boy.

Conway Lends Helping Hand as Water Boy.

So with the complicated setup to this match covered, let’s take a look at what actually happened. Argentina opened strong with a try in the third minute from some really well worked space. Carreras, after a few nicely timed offloads, stepped inside on Beirne and went over for 5 points. Honestly, a really well deserved try that worked Ireland left to right, fracturing the defence. It certainly made me a touch less confident after all the changes then such an early break. However, as we all know, I needn’t worry. Argentina led by 7 points for as many minutes before Carbery knocked over a penalty and Van Der Flier dotted down for a converted try to take the lead. From here, Ireland wouldn’t lose the lead for the following 70 minutes and denied Argentina any subsequent points. Ireland racked up 7 tries from 6 players, 2 coming from Van Der Flier. It was a game for the forwards, more specifically the back row as some fantastic running rugby came through them. Ireland’s back row has become and absolutely formidable force with players like Conan, Van Der Flier, Doris, O’Mahony and Timoney. Even Timoney, the last minute call up, found himself making some great tackles, strong carries, two turnovers at the ruck and a charge down and subsequent run making a good few meters. The backrow mainstays: Van Der Flier and Doris, played somewhat akin to a player made in a videogame with stats cranked up stupidly high. O’Mahony played with the passion and aggression every fan enjoys. His tirade against Lavanini after the brutal attempted clearout on Healy was a highlight,

“Scumbag... hard man aren’t ya?”, “he knows exactly what he’s doing, that’s very unlike you”

O'Mahony Berates Lavinini For Dangerous Challenge.

That clip will live in my head forever. Though, as impassioned a reaction as it was on the pitch, I was happy to see O’Mahony showing his sportsmanship in the post match press stating:

“I’ve been on the other side of that as well, you know... it’s split second decision making from his point of view”.

A shake of the hand was also exchanged between Healy and Lavanini.

Ireland didn’t let off one bit throughout the whole 80 minutes (maybe apart from the first 3) and were as ruthless as you would want from a top tier side. They worked the defence with the forwards like Van Der Flier and Doris, and the backs, like Tadgh Furlong, Carbery and Ringrose cut up the defence from deep. Before you ask, no, no mistakes were made in that last sentence. It was an all rounder from the Irish side but there was one aspect of the game that impressed me more than anything else; the depth of the squad. Ireland absolutely did not get to go into that game the way they wanted. 5 injury changes with 2 of them being on the day. Yet, I can’t say they felt it, even if they did end up having to call a player to make a 100 mile trip on the morning of the match. Farrell has changed something, and I’m not talking solely the physical aspect of the game, I’m talking mentally.

Every player out there played as if they had 100 caps under their belt and had already played top tier sides endless times. There was confidence to act as an individual but know for a fact that there was always support there. Even getting close to the 70th minute as Timoney charges down and goes on his own, even though he's surrounded by 5 Argentinian players (as show below in the image), O’Mahony gets over him in time and the ball is presented back for Ringrose to pass (and Baloucoune to fumble it but somehow immediately re-gather without knocking it on, but that’s besides the point).

Timoney Surrounded by Blue and White Shirts after Charge-Down.

I’m not sure what he’s done, but through this Autumn camp, it seems Farrell and the coaching staff have been able to instil a confidence even in the players who hadn’t garnered any game time until the last minute. Players like Baird, O’Toole, Baloucoune and Sheehan are massively inexperienced at international level but aren’t at all playing like it. Obviously, much credit goes to the players themselves and their natural talent but there’s no doubt they’ve been shaped and pushed by the Ireland coaching team to play the way they are. I fully expect to see these 4 names plus a few others start to creep their way more consistently into the team sheet. It’s a wonderful place to be when young players are genuinely challenging for spots whether that is in the starting 15 or on the bench.

I think Carbery has also made a huge impact in these three games and really put down a marker. With all the discourse in Irish rugby about Sexton’s replacement now is the time that Irish 10’s need to be doing just that. Carbery’s place kicking was fantastic, he made a couple of lovely breaks and orchestrated well. He then was moved to fullback where he looked just as comfortable. I do feel for Harry Byrne, who didn’t have the best period at 10 to close out the game; we know he’s incredibly talented, but I just don’t think he quite showed that. Following the game in the post match press Farrell was not at all willing to put his eggs in one basket though. Whilst he praised Carbery and Byrne, when he was asked does he think Carbery will be involved in the Six Nations he replied:

“We’ll see, it’s a long time till then... I’m sure that other lads will have their say as well... I think Jack Carty’s been playing pretty well, Billy Burns is pretty disappointed not to be here as well so we’ll see when they go back to their clubs and how they perform.”

Whilst Carbery put forward a good account of himself Farrell has made it clear he certainly hasn’t secured a spot with the other provincial number 10’s all in with a shout of being involved in the Six Nations, form permitting.

Everyone is going to have some disagreements about selection, of course it’s a partially subjective thing, selection, but I think Farrell has done a fantastic job. I absolutely had my doubts when the team was announced for Japan but Farrell and the squad have proved the doubters very wrong. Who could argue with a win over Japan, The All Blacks, and Argentina after all?